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The Outskirts of Wonderland

Chapter 1

Testing the Waters

Summary: The Kashimura family spends a day at the aquarium.

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She peered through the window, pushing her nose and forehead up against it to get as close as she possibly could. "Sana," said the man behind her in a gruff voice. "Don't touch the glass. It's bad manners."

Sana pouted and pulled away, before righting her expression and pointing at something on the other side. "What's that one?"

Zōroku came closer, eyes scanning the myriad placards. "It says that one is a Tiger Shark."

"And that one?"

"That's a manta ray."

"It's big, but its shape is weird. Why is it shaped like that?"

Zōroku thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Who knows? Lots of animals have odd shapes."

Sanae stepped in, gesturing towards the labels beneath the window. "Sana, you should read some of these. They're really interesting."

The youngest member of their party wasn't keen on the suggestion. "But reading is hard. And they use all those big words I don't know. Can't you just read them for me?"

"You'll never improve if you don't practice," said Zōroku.

"Boooo," she complained. Sanae giggled while Zōroku shook his head in exasperation. But Sana merely returned to taking in the sights, looking from one side to another and back again. Sometimes following a specific fish to see where it was going. Sometimes watching an entire school. Sanae, as well, was smiling happily and admiring the view. Zōroku was the least focused on the tank's inhabitants, glancing more often than not at his two wards.

This wasn't his first visit to an aquarium. It wasn't Sanae's, either. He had brought her to Sumida Aquarium a few years ago, during her first year of middle school, if he recalled correctly. But Sana had never been to one before, which is why Sanae had suggested it for their latest outing. An outing that somehow turned into a weekend trip to Sendai, culminating in their current visit to the Sendai Umino-Mori Aquarium. Zōroku would have been fine staying in Tokyo. It would have been cheaper, too, not that money was necessarily tight. But his old friend Ryū had somehow caught wind of their plans and secured them prepaid tickets to this one instead. He suspected Sanae or Ichijō were to blame. Perhaps both of them.

He wasn't against traveling for sightseeing in general. A girl like Sana needed to see more of the world. But knowing her and those powers she had, the aquarium wasn't exactly his first choice. Especially when her powers still acted up from time to time, triggering in tandem with strong emotions she felt. There was very little he could do on that front, other than encourage her to learn how to control them, or choose not to place her in potentially dangerous environments in the first place.

Environments like a two-story aquarium with dangerous sea-faring species and thousands of tons of water. Industrial-grade acrylic might as well have been paper to a girl with Sana's abilities.

But since Ichijō couldn't join them, he would simply have to hope Sana remained in control of herself.

His other concern was that they would somehow end up separated, or Sana would get lost somehow. Or that she would make a scene. She had a knack for finding trouble. Thankfully, the trip was so far turning out uneventful in that regard.

"This place is super, super big," Sana said, peeling back from hovering just in front of the large viewing window. "Sanae, what do we see next?"

Sanae put her finger to her chin in thought. "Hmm. I know! How about the penguin exhibit?"

Sana's eyes widened. "They have penguins? We get to see penguins again?"

"When did you see penguins?" Zōroku asked, certain that the word "again" hadn't been a mistake.

Sanae turned to him and smiled. "It was the day Sana and I met. After breakfast, she took us to lots of places with her powers."

Sana chimed in with an ecstatic grin. "Yeah! We saw a bunch of penguins. Even baby penguins."

Zōroku looked at Sanae. "You should have told me about that."

"There was a lot happening that day. I didn't want you to worry more." She wasn't wrong. That was only the second day he had known the young girl. The very same day she was nearly abducted by the violent, cut-throat researchers at the facility the girl once called home.

Sana began to frown. "Was that a bad thing?"

Zōroku shook his head. "It was dangerous. You should think more before using your powers that way."

She looked away. "I'm sorry."

Sanae knelt down to comfort her. "We're just worried about you, Sana. But you know what? You've gotten much better about asking us before you go somewhere. And that helps us not worry so much. Isn't that right, Grandpa?"

Zōroku nodded. "You've grown. But remember: It's important to consider the feelings of those around you. You should always talk to us about these kinds of things."

"That's right. We're family, after all."

Sana was quiet for a while, before suddenly grabbing Sanae into a hug. Then she gave Zōroku one as well. When she pulled back, her smile was much wider. "So can we go see the penguins? Can we?"

"We can."

"Yay!" she cheered. Bouncing on her heels, she began singing excitedly. "Penguins, penguins, swimmy swimming penguins."

Zōroku chided her. "Sana. Not so loud."

The girl startled at the reprimand, but then resumed singing in a much quieter voice.

"Black and white birdies that swim and have fun. Sanae, you sing too!" The older girl smiled and joined in, adding her own lyrics as they went.

Ten minutes later, after shuffling and weaving through the dense crowds, with Sana following hand in hand with Sanae, they arrived at the upper level of the penguin exhibit. Artificial rock faces and outcroppings decorated the entrance to the tank, lending the penguins a dry space to congregate. Some were bathing, others were sleeping, and still others were waddling about with no apparent destination in mind. The family of three observed the many penguins and their activities, the youngest making a game of assigning names and personalities to the aquatic birds. Later, they walked to the lower floor where they could see into the well-lit tank through the viewing window, and there they watched as penguins swam to and fro. Sometimes even speeding by right next to the glass. Sana followed their movements, all the while alternating between humming and talking to Sanae and Zōroku.

Their time at the penguin exhibit came to a close thanks to a loud grumbling of a certain stomach. Saying goodbye to the tuxedoed birds, they continued on to the food court where they dined on fish-themed meals, all of which were served in paper trays and baskets printed with colorful artwork of marine life. Sana's side of the table was quickly overcrowded with empty paperware. Per usual, she had consumed more than Zōroku and Sanae had combined. A fact that no longer surprised either of them.

"Are you having fun?" Zōroku asked, this time directing his question to both of them.

"Mm-hmm." Sana answered with mouth closed, still chomping away at her taiyaki ice cream.

Sanae smiled at him. "I am, too."

"That's good." He opened the map and scanned it briefly before spreading it as well as he could across the still cluttered table. "We're here," he said, pointing at the food court area in red. "Is there something nearby you'd like to see?"

His granddaughter hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm. Maybe the dolphin show? But there's a later one, too. I think we should save that for last." Her eyes roamed the various color-coded exhibits until a certain word stood out to her. "We haven't been to the second floor yet. How about . . . this one!" She tapped her choice with an excited smile.

Sana looked where she was pointing. Then she sounded out the characters on the page, scrunching up her brow as she did.

"What's a jellyfish?"

Electric blue light met her eyes in waves and shimmers. Within the cylinder, lucent domes moved about, drifting aimlessly or swimming in slow, bounding motions.

"Oooh," she whispered, rapt and with stars in her eyes.

Sanae smiled and knelt down next to her. "Well? What do you think?"

"They're really weird!"

The lighting changed, now into a striking purple, and the sea creatures inside changed color beneath the glow. Zōroku stood patiently beside them, attention lingering on the tentacles, musing on the danger within those seemingly innocuous strands.

Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't noticed Sana and Sanae leave his side to explore elsewhere. But thankfully the visitors to this room were fewer than elsewhere in the aquarium. He found Sana at the nearby wall, and for the moment, there was no one else beside her. She stood motionless before the panoramic window, silhouetted against a hundred sterling lights in an azure sea. Captivated by an immense artificial ocean dappled with flowing moonlight.

And yet, the girl known as Sana, though dwarfed in size, was no lesser by comparison.

He turned back to the tank in front of him, just as Sanae drew near. "Mysterious, aren't they?" Zōroku hummed in agreement, but his eyes were drawn again to Sana, and his granddaughter followed his gaze. "Sana seems fascinated by them. I think she likes them more than penguins."

Zōroku nodded. "That sounds like Sana."

And Sanae smiled back. "It does, doesn't it? She's mysterious, too."

He took a moment to glance at his watch. "Should we keep going?"

"Hmm, maybe a little longer. If that's okay?"

He nodded again. "Take your time." The trip was for Sana's sake, after all. They could stay in this room as long as she liked. "I'm going to step out for a moment. Check in with Hayashi."

Sanae said it was fine, with just a hint of disappointment. And then they went in separate directions.

She returned to the Moon Jellyfish tank, looking around in case Sana had wandered off again. Which appeared to be the case. The young girl was no longer standing at the glass. "Sana," she sang in a low voice, mindful of the other visitors. But no blond head turned her way. She cast about again, but even after scanning the nearby exhibits, she still didn't see her. "Sana?" As best she could tell, Sana wasn't anywhere in the room.

And then she caught sight of familiar colors and clothes where they absolutely should not have been. That's when she found her.

Her new sister, submerged on the other side of the plexiglass pane, waved to her with a bright smile. Unbothered by the countless jellyfish floating around her. Sanae's heart almost stopped. Her hands came to the glass, in direct violation of the many signs throughout the aquarium. "Sana?!"

Sana waved again and gestured her to watch. Then she poked a nearby jellyfish on the bell. The creature undulated slowly, contracting and extending its body as it adjusted its course and swam away. She then turned back to her chaperon and grinned further.

But Sanae wasn't amused. She was just worried. "Sana, that's not for swimming," she whispered, shaking her head and making large motions with her hands, doubting she could even hear her but hoping to convey the message. Sana appeared confused.

"Mama, look!" To Sanae's horror, a small boy stared in awe, pointing to the girl who was somehow in the water. The girl surrounded on all sides by a silvery bloom.

There was a sharp gasp. The woman was initially too stunned to react. Then she began to search frantically about, as if to find and notify someone who could help. "There's someone in there!"

Her loud statement drew curious stares from nearby patrons, but when they both looked back at the tank, the sight that greeted them was a normal group of jellyfish, absent one Sana Kashimura.

The woman sputtered. "She was just there." Panic hadn't quite left her, so she looked at Sanae and asked, "You saw it too, didn't you?" When Sanae struggled to give her an answer, she pressed on. "No, never mind. Can you watch him for a moment?" Sanae agreed, and the mother hurriedly left. The boy pressed himself to the glass and looked around inside.

A member of the aquarium staff accompanied her swift return, but his troubled expression quickly settled on impatience. "I don't see anyone."

"But she was inside the tank."

Though somewhat unintelligibly, her son happily contributed his own opinion. "Jelly girl!"

"Ma'am, that's impossible. The tank's closed off on the other side. No one's getting in there." The back and forth continued, but eventually, he agreed to have someone check the tank just in case, and the mother appeared slightly mollified. Then he left. The woman took her son by the hand. She thanked Sanae for her help and apologized for her outburst, and only after worriedly inspecting the jellyfish display one last time, she and her son continued on their way.

Only Sanae remained, the other attendees coming and going none the wiser. She had no idea where Sana might have disappeared to. Which is why she startled when the girl she was looking for suddenly spoke.

"That was fun. Sanae, you should try it too!"

She spun around to see Sana standing there, dry and unharmed. Her pulse began to slow, and she collected her thoughts. "Sana, remember what you promised Grandpa?"

Her smile faded at the insinuating tone. "But I wanted to see the jellyfish."

Sanae knelt down to level herself with the younger girl. "I know. But you made people worry. And it was dangerous, too. What if something had happened?"

She turned crestfallen, even with that gentle reproach. Her eyes began to mist. "You . . . you won't tell Zōroku, will you?"

Sanae smiled. "I think we can keep this one a secret. But you have to promise to behave for the rest of the day. Okay?"

Sana nodded. Then, for the second time that day, she wrapped her sister in a hug. They finally gathered themselves and met back up with Zōroku outside the exhibit. The subject of what transpired never came up, and the three proceeded along through the aquarium, ending their day at the stadium, where playful dolphins and sea lions, under the guide of the trainers, performed for a boisterous crowd and a delighted Sana. The day wound down, and eventually they would go back to their hotel before returning home the next morning, each with fond memories of their trip. And Sanae would gradually forget about the minor jellyfish incident in the days to come.

At least until her next visit to Wonderland.

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A/N: This marks the beginning of a series of stories I'm currently writing, a little for practice, but mostly just for fun. This one was tricky, and I eventually scrapped a side-plot for it that had little to do with the aquarium itself. I'll probably keep it for a later chapter, once I rework it. So there will definitely be more to come. Some chapters will be serious, others will be light-hearted like this one.

At any rate, as always, thanks for reading. To all the other Alice & Zoroku fans out there, I hope this fanfic is the first of many!